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We invite you, our readers, to
send in your questions on bib–
lically oriented prophetic,
doctrinal, historica l and
Christian-living topics. While
we cannot promise that all
questions will be answered in
print, we will try to cover all
those that are of general inter–
est as space permits. Send
your questions to the appro–
priate address listed on the in–
side front cover, care of
The
Plain Trutb.
ri1
"Many of your articles effec–
K.i
tively refute evolution and sup–
port the Bible. Yet you seem to
believe the earth is a lot older than
the 6000 years that Genesis in–
dicates. lsn't this a contradictíon? Or
are you just giving in to pressure
from the scientific establishment?"
Arthur P.,
Wilmington, North Carolina
IIW
The Bible reveals that God is
111
the Creator of heaven and
earth "and all that in them is" (Gen.
1:1; Ex. 20:11 ). We believe that the
evidence from modern biology, ge–
ology, and paleontology strongly
supports the concept of special cre–
ation and that evolution, as it is
usually taught, is a mistaken inter–
pretation of that evidence.
On the other hand, the Bible
does not say
when
creation took
place. Scientific evidence based on
studies of radiometric dating, geo–
logical changes, and ecological
succession strongly implies a very
old age for the earth.
Sorne people have attempted to
deduce the time of creation from
40
the biblical ages of the patriarchs
(the famous Ussher chronology
dates creation at 4004 B.C.), but
the date of creation does not nec–
essari ly coincide with the age of the
earth. Though we may conclude
that Adam was created about 6000
years ago , there is certainly no bib–
lical proof that the earth-along with
certain prehistoric creatures such
as the dinosaurs-could not have
been created long before 4000 B.C.
lndeed, a pre-Adamic world is con–
sistent with the scriptures dealing
with Satan's role in God's creation.
(Write for the free booklet
Answers
From Genesis.)
The exact age of the earth re–
mains a mystery. But when the
Bible is correctly understood, there
is nothing to keep us from accept–
ing scientific evidence placing the
age of the earth at millions or even
billions of years. We have nothing
to fear from the truth, even if it
comes from the so-called " scientific
establishment."
fi1
" After Judas died, the remain–
J¡¡t
ing eleven apost les chose an–
other to take his place. Was this Saul,
later named Paul , or someone else?
lf it was someone else, why is Paul
referred to as an apostle?"
Herb T.,
Clark, South Dakota
t+J
The Greek word translated
= -
"apostle" in the New Testa–
ment can mean "an ambassador,"
"a messenger." "one who is com–
missioned," or "one who is sent. "
During His ministry, Christ per–
sonally chose twelve men whom He
worked with, taught and trained to
fulfill the commission of preaching
the gospel of the Kingdom of God
to the world. After Judas' death fol–
lowing his betrayal of Christ, the
J\
n s
w
e r s
other eleven drew lots and chose
Matthias to fill that vacant office
(see Acts 1:15-26). Thus Matthias
was included in the commission
and rewards given the other original
apostles (Matt. 19:28; Rev. 21:14).
While the apostle Paul was not
counted among the original twelve,
he also occupied the office of
apostle (see 1 Cor. 15:9-1 O; Rom.
1:1; 1Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1, etc.).
ri1
"1 have just finished reading
IK't
the best-selling book
Lite After
Lite
by Dr. Raymond
A.
Moody, Jr. In
it was the test imony of people who
had 'died' and been brought back.
They told of some fascinating experi–
ences, including being out of thei r
bodies, and seeing a 'being of light'
who talked to them and flashed their
lives in front of them. What are your
comments?"
Alfred G.,
Portland, Maine
I
R
Though many of these hap-
111
penings are understandably
astounding and seem to contradict
what the Bible says about death,
the whole idea ot such a " life-after–
life" experience is based on the
premise that these people actually
died. According to the medica! pro–
fession, these individuals were clini–
cally dead. However, medica!
science has not yet agreed on what
constitutes actual death in a human
being, and the fac t that these
people are here to tell of their expe–
riences can be put forth as evi–
dence that they weren' t
real/y
dead ,
after al l.
Real permanent death , according
to the Bible, is total and complete
unconsciousness-without memory,
feeling , knowledge or perception
(Eccl. 9:5; Ps. 6:5). These biblical
statements remain as our authority
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1977