"Take the Challenge"

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James Dyck

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Ann Wielenga

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Dale Robbins

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Sarah Stickfort

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 Marriage and the Family - Dr. Sandy Higgins explores the roles of parents, raising children, abortion, courtship, the Basis of Christian Living in the Home, God's Pattern Under Pressure, Heartbroken Homes, Being Single, Failing Fathers and other topics from the Bible's point of view.

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I am having a little trouble finding you doctrine info on your website.  Where can I find the information on what you believe? 

Benn

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The page at http://www.gospelhall.org/faqs/faqs/your-first-visit.html would give you some information on the doctrine, style and priorities of assemblies.

We believe the Bible is the inspired, once-for-all revealed word of God.  We teach that Salvation from sin is through the death of Christ on the cross.  Works of any kind do not save, but provide evidence of the reality of the dwelling of the Spirit of God.  We believe that the church is a group of called-out believers who share common doctrine and maintain a good testimony of honesty, good works and respect among neighbors and friends.  The pattern of believers found in the Acts and Epistles is our model.  There is no creed or organization other than the Bible that we follow.  We believe Christ will return at some day, known only to God, to rapture all beleivers.

Shad Sluiter
www.gospelhall.org

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What scriptural reason is there for stating as a fact that the seventieth week was cut off from the rest and is yet to be fulfilled?

The scriptural reason is understood by reading the passage (Daniel 9:24-27)." TARGET="_blank">Daniel 9:24-27). The seventy “hebdomads,” or periods of seven years are said by Gabriel to be “determined upon Daniel’s people (the Jews) and the holy city, to punish the transgressors. . . and to anoint the Most Holy.” Then, in verse 25, this whole period of 490 years is resolved into its constituents of 49 years (during which building operations were completed), then a further 434 years to the cutting off of the Messiah, that is 483" TARGET="_blank">is 483 years in all, or 7 years short of the total 490. Why is this? Because as Zechariah 11:10" TARGET="_blank">Zechariah 11:10 tells us, when “the staff, even Beauty,” is cut off (a description of the same event as the cutting off of Messiah), Jehovah’s covenant, which he had made with all the people, is broken, so that one period of seven years, or one “hebdomad,” still remains to be fulfilled. This will have its place when the prince of the people who destroyed the city (the Romans in 70 A.D.) will confirm a covenant with many for one week or period of seven years. The fact that He will break His covenant in the middle of the period, i.e., after 3 1/2 years, will not override the fact that this “hebdomad” will complete the 490 years determined on the Jews, to end with “anointing the Most Holy,” which will take place when Christ returns in glory to reign.

W.H.

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Should the oversight meeting be open to all elder brethren of consistent walk in life, or only to a few, who “assume” the care and rule of the meeting?

I think one qualified by God for such a work would be very slow to “assume” anything; 

1 Timothy 3:1-7;" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1: 6-9;" TARGET="_blank">Titus 1: 6-9; and 1 Peter 5:1-5" TARGET="_blank">1 Peter 5:1-5 give us the qualifications of an overseeing elder: first, he must” desire” it (or “stretch forward” to it, as the original expresses). But that is not enough; he may even be “consistent in walk and life,” and yet fail to manifest the necessary qualification for eldership. Does he rule his home well for instance? or is it a matter of common knowledge, that he is ruled in the home? An overseer of this type is a great hindrance, for sometimes it is the power in the home that seeks to rule the church by his means.

Has he a “good report of them that are without”? Does he “hold fast the faithful Word”? Has he a pastor’s heart, to feed the flock of God?

I think one qualified by God for such a work would be very slow to “assume” anything; he would be apt to do the work, show fitness for it, and have a heart for the Lord’s people, but it would not be for him to push himself into a prominent position; rather his fellowship would be sought. Elders caring for the saints should be on the look out for brethren who are manifesting any spiritual activities, and seek to encourage such, remember that age comes on apace, and that soon perhaps their work will need other hands to take it up.

W.H.

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Is it correct to say that the Old Testament saints had the Gospel preached to them as we know it?

(see Galatians 3:8)." TARGET="_blank">Galatians 3:8).

Did Abraham know when he offered up Isaac, that his son was a type of the Son of God? or did Isaiah know when speaking of the sufferings of Christ, that He was the Son of God? or again, did Job know that his Redeemer was the Son of God?

It is not possible, it seems to me, for anyone to search the hearts and understandings of these Old Testament saints, and define the exact extent of their spiritual apprehension of the Person of whom they spake. Spiritual truths are spiritually apprehended.

Certainly the Gospel preached to Abraham was not the Good News as we know it, but it contained it, for its promise of salvation was alone through Christ. Probably the apprehension of Patriarchs and Prophets was much greater than we might naturally suppose. For instance, would it not be difficult to define the limitations of our Lord’s words in John 8:56" TARGET="_blank">John 8:56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” This seems to refer to a special occasion, as the verbs are all in the aorist and speak of a point of time in the past, probably to the great deliverance on Mount Moriah. Abraham might have called the name of the place “Jehovah-rahah”__the Lord has provided, had he thought all was over. Evidently he perceived that what had just taken place was the figure of a greater deliverance and so he called it “JehovahJireh”—the Lord will provide. Whether Isaiah and the prophets knew that the Messiah about whom they wrote was to be actually the Son of God, it seems profitless to enquire. They knew they were inspired by the Spirit of Christ testifying in them, and that they were speaking for us, concerning “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:11)." TARGET="_blank">1 Peter 1:11). Their difficulty was not to know of whom they spake, but of what manner of time. As for Job’s wonderful words, “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” he would be a bold man (which boldness I neither share nor desire to share), who would undertake to limit this prophecy. It seems to me that in these words God gave His tried servant to understand a bit of “Romans” truth—”My Redeemer”; a bit of “Corinthian” truth —“He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth”; a bit of “Thessalonian” truth—”In My flesh I shall see God”; a bit of “Colossian” truth—”My Redeemer is God”; and a bit of “Timothy” truth—”I know.”

W.H.

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“ONE SHALL BE TAKEN”
What is the meaning of Matthew 24:40" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 24:40?

When our Lord uttered His great prophetic discourse as recorded in Mark 13," TARGET="_blank">Mark 13, Luke 21" TARGET="_blank">Luke 21 and here in Matthew 24," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 24, He was addressing the disciples, not as members of the church, which did not then exist, but as representing the godly remnant of Israel, “the people made ready prepared for the Lord” by John the Baptist. The disciples had not ceased to be Jews by receiving Christ; that would have been a strange result of receiving the National Messiah. They were better Jews than ever, in fact, the only true Jews. Now, the first coming of Messiah, in humiliation and the second in glory—”the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow”—formed the staple theme of the Old Testament prophets (see Isaiah 10;" TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 10; Isaiah 11;" TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 11; Isaiah 25" TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 25 and Isaiah 25:9;" TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 25:9; Daniel 7:9-14;" TARGET="_blank">Daniel 7:9-14; Zechariah 14:1-8)." TARGET="_blank">Zechariah 14:1-8). In all these places, except Isaiah 53," TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 53, it is the coming in power and great glory of the Son of Man to the earth in connection with the deliverance of Israel that is in view, not His coming to take them away from this scene, but to set up His Kingdom for their blessing under His own beneficent sway. In 1 Thessalonians 4" TARGET="_blank">1 Thessalonians 4 quite another character of deliverance is in view—a preliminary stage of the Second Coming—not revealed in the Old Testament, but a mystery displayed in the New, which provides for a deliverance of a large number of saints by resurrection, transformation and translation from this scene, in view of the judgment and tribulation about to occur on the earth. These will be “caught up to meet the Lord in the air” (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)." TARGET="_blank">1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). To anyone who will carefully read the synoptic chapters referred to above, with the Old Testament passages quoted there and also i Thess, 4, there ought not to be much difficulty in settling to which stage of His Second Coming our Lord was referring in His prophetic discourse. There it is the “Son of Man” (6 times repeated) Who is coming, as in Daniel; it will be a coming in an evil day, as in the days of Noah, see Isaiah 10" TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 10 and 11; in connection with Israel, as in Zechariah 14." TARGET="_blank">Zechariah 14. The answers to the three questions asked seem very clear. The two will be in the field at the coming of the Son of Man in glory; one shall be taken away from this world in judgment, the other left in this scene for Millennial blessing.

W.H.

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THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

When does the restoration of all things by Elias take place?

The answer is given in Malachi 4:5" TARGET="_blank">Malachi 4:5: “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” The Lord seems clearly to refer to this promise, see Matthew 17:11" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 17:11 “Elias truly shall first come and restore all things.” As to what this coming represents we must refer to other Scriptures. The first time historically that Elias is mentioned in the N.T. is in Luke 1" TARGET="_blank">Luke 1: , in the angel’s message to Zacharias that his promised son “shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, etc.” John’s mission was to resemble in spirit and power and result, the mission of Elias as described in Malachi 4:6." TARGET="_blank">Malachi 4:6. Now, we remember that when later the apostles James and John proposed to call down fire from heaven, even as Elias did, and consume the Samaritans, the Lord rebuked them on the ground that they knew not what spirit they were of. It was the spirit of Elias, which was perfectly right in his dispensation, but not that of the Son of man (see Luke 9. 54)." TARGET="_blank">Luke 9. 54).

Does not this supply one more Scriptural reason against the new theory that John, had he only been faithful, would have become one of the twelve apostles? Had he been so, there would have been two incompatible “spirits” in the twelve, one, that of Elias in the person of John the Baptist, and another foreign to it, the spirit of Christ. In Matthew 11:14," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 11:14, the Lord said, “If ye will receive it, this (i.e., John the Baptist) is Elias which was for to come.” The words, “if ye will receive it,” are important, as they also throw light on our Lord’s words in Matthew  17:12 “I say unto you that Elias is come already, and they knew him not.” This cannot, I submit, mean that John was a reincarnation of Elias. They are separate entities to-day. Elias will surely come again, but he will not be born, as John was, of a mother. He will come again as he went and probably as secretly, as far as the general world will be concerned.

John did up to a certain point fulfil the role of Elias. To use a modern phrase, he was his “double,” but none the less it remains true that “Elias will come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” and most evangelical interpreters of the Revelation are agreed that he will be one of the two witnesses of Rev. ii. Their ministry will last 1260 days or 3- years, that is, during the first half of Daniel’s last week of years, beginning with the Covenant between the Head of the Roman people and the Jews. The ministry of the two witnesses will be a ministry enforced by judgment and plague, and bearing down all opposition and. crushing their enemies by miraculous power. It will also be wonderful in its success. There will be a revival in Israel, such as has never yet been known, and a world-wide testimony through, I might suggest, the I,ooo equipped for this service by that Pentecost (see Joel 2" TARGET="_blank">Joel 2: ), of which that of Jerusalem was the foretaste, and vast numbers will be brought to repentance. It will only be when their ministry is finished that the “Beast,” then manifested as such, will slay them. This will inaugurate the day of Jacob’s trouble and the great tribulation, running concurrently, only to end in the appearing in power and great glory of the Son of man—”the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

W.H.

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OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS

Is not the claim altogether unreasonable, that we of the Present dispensation, though so inferior to faithful Abraham, and not worthy of a quarter of his reward, are a different class of saint?

It is a very serious thing to let go dispensational differences. God is sovereign, and works all things after the counsel of His own will. Supposing we admit the above estimate of Abraham’s merits, as is certainly correct in the case of many Christians, even then our questioner’s conclusion is based on a fallacy. It involves a confusion between individual rewards for faithfulness, and the place in the kingdom will depend on that, and the calling of God, which is entirely of grace. Grace is free to bestow positions of privilege, quite apart from personal merit. The character of collective blessing depends on the character of the dispensation. Thus the blessings of Israel were in one sense material blessings in earthly places, those of the Church are spiritual blessings in heavenly places. One day Israel will be the head of the nations, and instruments of blessing to the whole world, but they were never in the Church.

For the differences between Jew and Gentile were very definite in Old Testament times. The building of the Church was future even in our Lord’s time:—”I will build my church.” But this does not say that individual saints of the Old Testament: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, etc., will not have a far higher individual reward, than many of the Church. An illustration may serve. At the opening of Parliament, the King on his throne, is surrounded by Peers of the Realm, Statesmen, High Officials, and Dignitaries of State, many of whom owe their position to personal merit, for having served well their King and country. But by his side is one seated nearer than any other, accorded that place, not by personal merit exactly, but by the choice of the King, to whom she occupies a relationship nearer than the Prime Minister. On the steps of the throne are the Royal Princes and Princesses, including the little grandchildren, who certainly have done nothing to deserve that honour, but they were born to it. How foolish it would then be to raise the question of their merit! Some present may have made their mark by leadership or statecraft, but that is something over and above their birthright. We must distinguish them. The Kingdom will be a sphere of rewards as well as of blessings. All believers will be in it, that is, in the earthly or heavenly side of it, but all will not enjoy the same reward. Relationships, then, depends upon grace. We do not become members of the Church by merit, but by God’s own purpose and grace, and by the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The rewards of faithfulness will be crowns and positions in the kingdom.

W.H.

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