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Q
"1 was reading the book of
Zechariah and do not under–
stand the following: 'Even Judah will
fight against Jerusalem'
(14:14)."
Mrs. T. J.,
Arlington, Virginia
A
The phrase "Even Judah will
fight against Jerusalem" is
actually capable of being translated
two ways. 8oth the King James and
the New American Standard Ver–
sions speak of Judah fighting
at
Je–
rusalem (although the KJV margin
includes "against" as an optional
translation). Judah is a biblical
name for the people we call the
"Jews" today. The Jewish people
have historically inhabited Jerusa–
lem, since the city was originally as–
signed to the tribe
ot
Judah when
Israel came into the Promised Land.
lt is the Jews who will defend the
city against invading armies in this
prophecy. Judah will fight at, not
against, Jerusalem-unless the city
becomes occupied by Gentile ar–
mies. Then Judah would fight
against the city in order to recap–
ture it.
Q
" 1 would appreciate it if you
would explain to me just when
someone is supposed to receive the
Holy Spirit. ls it when they repent of
their sins and ask the Lord to forgive
them, or is it when they are baptized?
Just how does anyone know they
have received the Holy Spirit?"
Eleanor
R. ,
Greenville, South Carolina
A
Acts 2:38 records how the
apostle Peter instructed those
who were listening on the day of
Pentecost to " repent , and be bap–
tized ... in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins; and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit." Real repentance
entails a willingness to turn com–
pletely from one's own wrong ways
and go God's way. After Peter's
sermon, "about three thousand"
people repented and were baptized.
Acts 19:6 shows that baptism was
normally followed by a laying-on-of–
hands ceremony during which con–
verts received God's Holy Spirit.
And while the household of Corn–
elius the centurion received the
Holy Spirit betore baptism, this was
The
PLAIN TRUTH August-September 1977
done by God as a special sign that
Gentiles were to be a part of the
Christian brotherhood (Acts 10:44-
48).
Once a person has fulfilled the
requirements of true repentance
and baptism, God promises to give
His Spirit to him as a begettal into
His very own divine family (send for
the booklet
Why Were You Born? tor
more on this). One can have abso–
lute faith in this promise of God re–
peated throughout His word.
But a more pragmatic way to ob–
serve the working of God's Spirit is
through the changes evident in a
Christian's daily life. Christ said,
"You will know them by their fruits"
(Matt. 7:16). And Galatians 5:22 re–
veals that the fruits of God's Holy
Spirit are " love, joy, peace, pa–
tience, kindness, goodness, taith–
fulness, gentleness, self-control. "
Although some who received the
Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost
(and in other instances recorded in
the book of Acts) spoke with
tongues and were able to perform
other miracles, such manitestations
were given them as a sign to unbe–
lievers
(1
Cor. 14:22). A true Chris–
tian may be filled
to
the brim with
God's Spirit and show none
ot
these miraculous abilities.
lf a person has cometo God, re–
pented and been baptized, and
be–
gins
to manifest the truits
mentioned in Galatians 5:22 in his
daily life, he can believe that he has
the gift of God's Spirit and will re–
ceive His salvation if he continues
in the faith.
For more on this subject, send for
your free copies of
What ls a Real
Christian?, Al/ About Water Bap–
tism,
and "How You Can be lm–
bued with the Power of God!"
Q
" In your article 'Organized Re–
ligion-Who Needs lt?' you
said that it is in accord with biblical
principies that, by being organized ,
Christians can help a needy individ–
ual without the person being helped
knowing who is helpíng him. Why do
you hide the fact that the early Chris–
tians did not give alms at all but lived
together, not having prívate property,
sharing everything? (Acts
2:44;
4:32.)"
Dieter K. ,
Düsseldorf, Germany
A
The examples of early Chris–
tian "communism" which
you mention were the result of spe–
cial circumstances. Using property
communally was the custom in an–
cient Israel when large ·crowds
would flock to Jerusalem during the
holy day seasons. The reside(lts of
the city would open their homes
free of charge to the newly arrived
pilgrims at such times (see
The
Temple, lts Ministry and Services
as
They Were at the Time ot Jesus
Christ,
by Alfred Edersheim). Since
the early Christian Church first
gathered at Pentecost, they were
following the custom of theirday.
Furthermore, it was customary
for poor people to eat of the Temple
sacrifices, but priests were denying
this opportunity to Christians. With
large
number~
of people to contend
with , some provision had to be
made to take care of many needy
people. And these arrangements
were not as communal as might ap–
pear at first glance. The story of
Ananias and Sapphira occurs at
this time of comm\Jnal ownership.
They were condemned, not for giv–
ing only
part
of the proceeds from
the sale of their property to the
apostles, but for pretending that
they gave all of it (Acts 5:3). But no–
tice that they still owned prívate
property which, according to the
apostle Peter himself, was their
"own," and in their "own power"
to dispose of as they pleased (Acts
5:4). However, the principie of giv–
ing prívate property to a common
fund to be distributed to the needy
is an undeniable principie of orga–
nized religion.
Moreover, we know that the early
Christians who lived outside of Je–
rusalem also owned prívate prop–
erty: Paul ' s admonition to the
Corinthians
to
help their drought–
stricken brethren in Jerusalem was
made· to individuals who owned
property: "Every man according as
he purposeth in his heart, so let him
give ..." (11 Cor. 9:7). Furthermore,
two
of the Ten Commandments
presuppose
prívate property. The
two commandments-"Thou shalt
not steal" and " Thou shalt not
covet"-are not only implicit sanc–
tions of private ownership of prop–
erty, but also set it up as a moral
right of man.
o
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