What are the marks of the Spirit’s leading in a meeting?

In light of the foregoing principles, our participation should make it easier for and encourage others to participate. What we have contributed should often become a building block that amplifies others’ contributions. If a deadening silence follows our participation, quiet submission to the Lord may produce an awareness of a wrong condition in the soul. If there is honestly no awareness of wrong, then we commit this to the Lord with a humble admission that we have tried to please him. A feeling of depression or elation that follows our participation may not be the most reliable guide. Being willing to wait God’s time for encouragement is essential. He will give the needed encouragement in His own way as well as through others, which is most valuable when it comes from respected believers.

We must move in the presence of God and not live for or by the praise of men. We nonetheless value others and want to move in fellowship with them.

D. Oliver
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Why has God communicated His message through dreams?

In general, God communicated truth through dreams when the Scriptures were not completed. In the future, He will also communicate through dreams to Israel, a nation which seeks signs (Matthew 12:39;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 12:39; 1 Corinthians 1:22)" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 1:22) and whose language is like Thomas’, "Except I shall see..., I will not believe" (John 20:25)." TARGET="_blank">John 20:25). Perhaps all recorded dreams relate to God’s earthly purposes for Israel and unfold His immediate plans. This may suggest another reason for God’s instantaneous communication by dreams to a completely passive (sleeping) individual.

God links dreams with prophecy: "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28)." TARGET="_blank">Joel 2:28). This will have its fulfillment during Daniel’s seventieth week ("the Tribulation"), when events in the prophetic Scriptures will unfold. No additional truth will be revealed, because the canon of Scripture is complete (2 Timothy 3:16, 17;" TARGET="_blank">2 Timothy 3:16, 17; Revelation 22:18);" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 22:18); instead, with prophetic authority, these "dreamers" will use language similar to Peter’s in Acts 2:16," TARGET="_blank">Acts 2:16, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." These dreams will not reveal new truth, but the fulfillment of what was previously revealed.

Solomon explains the normal source of dreams, "A dream cometh through the multitude of business," or, as a less literal translation (TCV) says, "Bad dreams come from too much worrying" (Ecclesiastes 5:3)." TARGET="_blank">Ecclesiastes 5:3). Most dreams, then, are an expression of the individual’s thoughts, happy or sad, optimistic or pessimistic, worrisome or encouraging. Dreams tell us more about ourselves than about God. Even dreams in which God speaks to the unconverted (Job 33:15)" TARGET="_blank">Job 33:15) may result from thoughts stirred by the Spirit during waking hours. Such dreams do not reveal truth, but impress it on the sinner.

D. Oliver
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What does the phrase mean "wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together"?

Could you please explain the meaning of Matthew 24:28," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 24:28, "For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together'?

Matthew chapter 24: is taken up with apostasy, tribulation, and judgment. The "carcase" no doubt represents the corrupt and apostate part of the Jewish nation, and finally will include all nations. The "eagles" symbolize the judgment of God, and the angels as His instruments of judgment. The imagery seems to be taken from job 39:27-30." TARGET="_blank">job 39:27-30. There the eagle is seen on "the rock" and "the strong place." "From thence she seeketh the prey and her eyes behold afar off." "Where the slain are, there is she." The verse in Matthew is a picture of sudden, swift, and sure judgment.

H. Alves (February, 1964)

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Is gift required for all spiritual work?

Is gift required for all spiritual work?

Not every Christian can speak in the assembly, but all can fulfill the responsibility to "exhort (encourage) one another daily" (Hebrews 3:13)" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 3:13) by writing notes (Philemon 7)" TARGET="_blank">Philemon 7) or speaking personally (Acts 18:26)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 18:26). Gift does not enhance "praying in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18)." TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 6:18). Our placing undue emphasis on capability displaces dependence on the Spirit and undervalues the work of the Spirit in a believer. Business-like efficiency and effectiveness is helpful when coupled with evidence of the Spirit’s working within; when alone, it is unproductive spiritually in contrast to the hesitating labors of a Spirit-filled believer. We must do God’s work in the best possible manner, while remembering that we can accomplish such work only by the Spirit’s energy.

Some spiritual work, however, requires spiritual gift. Not every brother ought to be preaching the gospel or ministering to the saints or leading a Bible reading, nor should anyone whom God exercises for such work fail to find encouragement to do it.

D. Oliver
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Should a Christian wife work outside the home?

Is it right for a wife to be employed outside of the home?

Some have taken the expression, "keepers at home" (Titus 2:5)" TARGET="_blank">Titus 2:5) to mean staying at home. M. R. Vincents "Word Studies in the New Testament" disagrees with this and indicates it means of the household." There is support for translating the expression "workers at home." The other words in this series of descriptions are moral characteristics: discreet; chaste; good. The verses surrounding it are primarily the same. Rather than a command for a woman to stay at home, Paul seems to be addressing her character. In a similar setting in 1 Timothy 5:13, 14," TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 5:13, 14, where young women are to "guide the house," this responsibility is a preservation from idleness, wandering from house to house, and being a busybody. Wholesome character in a young wife will keep her focus on her responsibilities in the home. The principle of 1 Timothy 2:15" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 2:15 likewise directs a sister to her domestic cares. If, therefore, a sister manages her home (1 Timothy 5:14)" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 5:14) and cares for her children (1 Timothy 2:15)," TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 2:15), working outside her home does not violate the teaching of these passages. Her industriousness is commendable. She is carrying on the traditions of the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31" TARGET="_blank">Proverbs 31 and joins that noble sister who with her husband, was a tentmaker.

On the other hand, a sister who places equal or greater value on her career than on her home and family has stepped outside Scriptural guidelines.

D. Oliver
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How do we "make disciples" and fulfill the Great Commission?

What is the most important help in "making disciples"?

The responsibility to "make disciples" extends "to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19, 20)." TARGET="_blank">Matthew 28:19, 20). We need every available spiritual means to encourage all believers to "obey all things."

New believers retain their former personality traits. Some love to learn something new (Acts 17:21);" TARGET="_blank">Acts 17:21); others like the challenge of advancing beyond others (Galatians 1:14);" TARGET="_blank">Galatians 1:14); still others love to fit into their new-found society and they eagerly conform (Acts 8:13)," TARGET="_blank">Acts 8:13), while the timid can be intimidated (Diotrephes did this, 3 John 1:9, 10)." TARGET="_blank">3 John 1:9, 10). Playing on these natural traits cannot produce spiritual results. The Lord predicates discipleship on this condition: "if any man will come after me" (Luke 9:23)." TARGET="_blank">Luke 9:23). Hearts drawn to Christ by an all-consuming devotion gladly embrace all He commands (John 14:15, 23)." TARGET="_blank">John 14:15, 23). Fostering devotion to Christ, coupled with patient, practical teaching, is essential to making disciples.

D. Oliver
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How could Jephthah give his daughter as an offering?

Please explain Judges 11:31" TARGET="_blank">Judges 11:31: “Shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

We know the story of Jephthah’s vow. It has been the subject of much heart searching and enquiry. Certainly there is something mysterious about it as it stands. Was Jephthah’s daughter really offered up as a burnt offering? This has been taken for granted and the story has been quoted to show the low morality of the times and the general need of humanity for the blessings of further “evolution” in their religious beliefs and practices! That the daughter was ever offered up as a burnt offering, however, can be proved neither by the story nor the morality of the times, but only that she bewailed her virginity. That is, she is supposed to have been thinking of this,when she might well have been thinking of losing her life. It would be like a convict about to lose his head, bewailing that they had cut his hair too close. I think the morality of Jephthah and his fellow-Israelites would probably compare very favourably with that of London or any other great modern city, and would certainly be better than that of some of the evolutionary, modernistic teachers, who while accepting a salary to preach what at the most solemn moment of their lives, they declared they unfeignedly believed, are now using their influence to undermine—the foundation truths of Creation, the Fall, Atonement, the true Deity of Christ, etc. All that we learn is that Jephthah is said to have met his daughter, and to have exclaimed: “I have been brought very low.” This was because she was his only child and therefore the only one by whom his name could be preserved. No doubt he was deeply moved: “I have opened my mouth unto the Lord and I cannot go back,” and the daughter, a true woman of faith, accepts the situation, and only asks that she may be allowed two months that she may go up and down and bewail—her life? No, again, her virginity. She returns at the end of the time, and “her father did with her according to his vow which he had vowed,” with what result? that she had died bravely and was buried? No, again we say, but that she never entered the married state. One would think this an unnecessary piece of information, if, in fact, she had been burnt alive, as some would have us believe. I will give one or two further reasons for believing that this is not the true meaning. (i) Human sacrifices were abhorrent to God’s mind. As for passing children through the fire in his honour, it was absolutely foreign to His intention. Jehovah’s words of this very thing are, “I commanded them not, neither came into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin” (see Jeremiah 32:35," TARGET="_blank">Jeremiah 32:35, also Ezekiel 16:20, 21;" TARGET="_blank">Ezekiel 16:20, 21; Ezekiel 20:26," TARGET="_blank">Ezekiel 20:26, 3:). Can we suppose this man of God to do “such a thing”? (2) For Jephthah was, we see, a man of God, by verse i i, and also by the character of his remonstrance to the king of Animon. His name, too, occurs among the heroes of faith of Heb. ii. () It is distinctly said that “the Spirit of God came upon him” before this incident. Can we then suppose he would have been permitted to sacrifice his daughter in the way supposed, entirely out of harmony with the will of God? (ii.) I think the true solution is found in the margin of our Bibles, “Shall surely be the Lord’s, OR I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” Had it been his dog or other unclean animal, how could he have offered it up as a burnt offering? No, but he might have sold it and given the price to the Lord. This marginal reading is borne out by the disjunctive use of Waw (“and”) in Hebrew, which also has the force of “OR,” as in Exodus 21:6" TARGET="_blank">Exodus 21:6 (“selleth him, OR if he be found in his hand”), Ex. 21." TARGET="_blank">Ex. 21. 17 (“father OR mother”), Deuteronomy 24" TARGET="_blank">Deuteronomy 24: 7 (“maketh merchandise of him, OR selleth him”); and of “WHETHER R,” as in Ex. 21." TARGET="_blank">Ex. 21. 31 (“WHETHER he have gored a son, OR have gored a daughter”). In all these passages, “and” would be out of place. It would seem clear that in Jephthah’s intention, to be “the Lord’s”, entailed a life of celibacy. There may have been some such custom current, to judge from this passage, though we know not of any command to confirm it. It is interesting to note the marginal reading of “lament” in the last verse of the chapter—”talk with”—the same verb, ”tinneh” which is translated “rehearse” in Judges 5:11" TARGET="_blank">Judges 5:11

W.H.

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Should I forgive my brother if he refuses to repent?

In light of Matthew 18:21-22" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 18:21-22 and Luke 17:3, 4," TARGET="_blank">Luke 17:3, 4, is a Christian bound to forgive another Christian only if he repents?

Every offended Christian ought to be willing to forgive another Christian whether or not the offender repents. God loves to forgive. Being followers of God (Ephesians 5:1)," TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 5:1), we ought to be ready to forgive, too. Psalm 86:5" TARGET="_blank">Psalm 86:5 states, "For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive."

An unforgiving spirit produces bitterness and ruins Christian life. The apostle Paul exhorted, "Let all bitterness ... be put away from you...: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:31, 32)." TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 4:31, 32).

When a believer recognizes that he has offended another, he should attempt to restore the enjoyment of fellowship with his offended brother. Sometimes, however, a Christian may not even be aware or feel - that he has offended another. In such a case, a spirit of forgiveness on the part of the Christian who has been hurt will enable him to lay aside the hurt without ever raising the matter. Love "thinketh no evil" (1 Corinthians 13:5)" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 13:5) means love keeps no record of evil; thus, Christian love will lay a matter to rest - and forget it - without raising the issue or demanding repentance (1 Peter 4:8)." TARGET="_blank">1 Peter 4:8).

J. Beattie

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Why did Michael have a dispute with Satan about the body of Moses?

THE BODY OF MOSES
What do you understand is intended to be conveyed to us by the dispute of the archangel Michael with Satan over the body of Moses?

Jude 1" TARGET="_blank">Jude 1:

We have the full account of the death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34," TARGET="_blank">Deuteronomy 34, but no account of his public funeral, for he had none, but, as is expressly stated, “He (i.e., the Lord) buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor, but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.” There must be a reason for this. I think it is that were it possible to examine the grave of Moses to-day it would be found empty. But someone will say, “How could Moses have been raised from the dead seeing that our Lord Jesus Christ is in 1 Corinthians 15" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 15 called ‘the first-fruits’ of the resurrection, and in Colossians r, ‘the first-born from the dead’?” This is an important question.

It was impossible for anyone to be raised on to true resurrection ground till our Lord rose. Then if Moses was raised, it could only have been back on to the death plane, as the various cases of resurrection of the Old and New Testaments prior to our Lord’s resurrection, such as the son of the widow of Sarepta, that of the Shunammite, Lazarus, and the widow of Nain’s son, etc. All came back on to the death plane and died subsequently. I think the incident narrated in Jude refers to the raising of Moses back on the earth plane. If he is one of the witnesses he will die again. No man can die physically after true resurrection. This gives an added completeness to the scene on the Holy Mount: The Lord the centre, Elijah representing them who will never pass in death, Moses the raised one. Satan might legally contest a premature resurrection of Moses in the true sense, while he could not possibly urge any legal objection to Moses being temporarily delivered from the state of death. “It is appointed unto men once to die.” If Moses is to be one of the witnesses, his death will be true death.

W.H.

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How long should a believer wait before being baptized?

How long should a believer wait before being baptized?

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16)" TARGET="_blank">Mark 16:16) doesn’t teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. Unbelievers, not "the unbaptized" will be damned. Faith is Christ is sufficient for salvation. Baptism, however, is the expected evidence of such faith. Peter commanded the converts in Cornelius’ house to be baptized (Acts 10:48)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 10:48). Clearly, those who guide new believers are responsible to encourage and direct them to be baptized. New believers receive enrichment by learning the meaning of baptism, but obedience to Christ does not depend on understanding doctrine. Did baptized believers in Acts understand union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection?

Even in Acts (Cornelius, the jailer, Saul of Tarsus), evidence of conversion preceded baptism. Currently, a person who professes to be saved and is baptized occasionally discovers he was not saved. If he is saved subsequently, he must be baptized a second time. It is very doubtful if the testimony of the second baptism is as effective as the first. We need wisdom to avoid unnecessary "second baptisms." Allowing adequate time for a new believer to prove the reality of his salvation is wise. Our conditions are different from those in Acts; of the thousands of converts in Acts, perhaps only one (Simon, the sorcerer) was false. In our day, we need ample evidence that those we baptize have divine life.

Prematurely baptizing those who later prove they were not saved never helps the work of the gospel; furthermore, it dishonors the Lord Jesus by giving skeptics cause for mocking the life-transforming power of the gospel. As in so many matters, balance is needed. A prolonged time between salvation and baptism implies that we support optional obedience to Scripture. Too short a time can endanger our gospel testimony. A person’s personality, past, and depth of character, added to our experience with occasional "fireworks Christians" (launched with a flash of light and noise, but fade into the night), affect how soon after conversion we are willing to baptize him.

D. Oliver
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