Bible Q&As
Question: What constitutes worship? There has to be a line drawn somewhere.—J. C., Georgia Answer: Worship: reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also an act of expressing such reverence; a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual.Merriam-Webster Dictionary For our purpose here we will confine the subject to Christian worship. Worship … [Read more…]
Answer: The opposition to musical instruments in the Church arose during the first centuries after Christ. However, we know of no place in Scripture where the use of musical instruments in worship service is spoken against. Musical instruments were in use long before Israel ever became a nation. Early in Genesis it is recorded that … [Read more…]
Question: Your answer about Seventh Day Adventists and the Sabbath (Megiddo Message, November, 1994, page 20) seems to wander around quite a bit. So what do you do with the whole nation of Jews? Do you mean to tell me they all slept through some Sabbaths? Or maybe a whole nation forgot what day it … [Read more…]
Question: What do you think of the Seventh Day Adventists and their thinking that Saturday is the God-ordained day of worship? Answer: The Seventh Day Adventists deserve credit for their courage and sincerity in holding to a command which they feel is crucial to their salvation. However, with equal sincerity, we believe that which specific … [Read more…]
Question: PART 1: In the Megiddo Message for November 1998, the Q&A page, we read ‘Why did Jesus compare Himself to a lord returning from the wedding? If we understand the Bible right, the wedding is on the earth, not up in heaven.’ Careful reading of the Bible doesn’t appear to bear out the above. … [Read more…]
Question: A passage in Psalm 102 sounds as though the earth and the heavens are impermanent, that they will one day disappear, that only God will endure forever. This does not agree with the idea that the earth abides forever. Could it be possible that some other heaven and earth (other than the natural creation) … [Read more…]
Question: How do you harmonize Gen. 8:22, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (implying that the earth is eternal) with 2 Pet. 3:10, “The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up?” Answer: The physical … [Read more…]
Question: In the April (1997) issue of your magazine, there are two references to “glorified worlds,” a heretofore unread and unseen area of extension. Do you have any reference material on this subject? What are the biblical references? Answer: We are convinced that the Bible amply supports the existence of “glorified worlds,” i.e., planets which … [Read more…]
Question: What are the “leaves” that “heal” in Revelation 22? What do they represent? What is the healing? Answer: The passage in question describes a most unusual picture. As translated in the New English Bible it reads: “Then he showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne … [Read more…]
Question: I would like to understand the part of Revelation about the locusts coming up on the earth to torment wicked people. I surely want to understand this. I have never heard it explained, but I have read the Bible many times, I love God’s Word, and I believe it and do my best to … [Read more…]