Plain Truth 1977 (Prelim No 10) Dec - Herbert W. Armstrong

Question s
We invite you, our readers, to
send in your questions on biblically
oriented prophetic,
doctrinal, historical 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 ofgeneral interest
as space permits. Send
your questions to the appropriate
address listed on the inside
front cover, care of The
Plain Truth.
rj1 " Many of your articles effec­
K.i. tively refute evolution and suppo
rt the Bible. Yet you seem to
believe the earth is a lot older than
th e 6000 years that Genes is indicates.
Isn't this a contrad iction? Or
are you just giving in to pressure
from the scientific establishment?"
Arthur P.,
Wilmington, North Carolina
.. The Bible reveals that God is
III 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, geology
, and paleontology strongly
supports the concept of special creation
and that evolution , as it is
usually taugh t, is a mistaken interpretation
of that evidence.
On the other hand, the Bible
does not say when creation too k
place. Scientific evidence based on
studies of radiometric dating, geological
changes, and ecological
succession strongly implies a very
old age for the earth.
Some people have attempted to
deduce the time of creation from
40
and
---------
the biblical ages of the patriarchs
(the famous Ussher chronology
dates creation at 4004 B.C.), but
the date of creation does not necessarily
coincide with the age of the
earth . Though we may conclude
that Adam was created about 6000
years ago, there is certainly no biblical
proof that the earth-along with
certa in prehistoric creatures such
as the dinosaurs-could not have
been created long before 4000 B.C.
Indeed , 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 remains
a mystery . But when the
Bible is correctly understood, there
is nothing to keep us from accepting
scient ific 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. "
rj1 " After Judas died, the remain­
K.i ing eleven apostles chose an- .
other to take hi's place. Was this Saul,
later named Paul, or someone else?
If it was someone else, why is Paul
referred to as an apostle?"
Herb T.,
Clark, South Dakota
n The Greek word translated
III " apostle" in the New Testament
can mean "an ambassador,"
" a messenger ," " one who is commissioned
," or " one who is sent."
During His ministry , Christ personally
chose twelve men whom He
worked with, taught and trained to
fulfill the comm ission of preach ing
the gospe l of the Kingdom of God
to the world . After Judas ' death following
his betrayal of Christ, the
other eleven drew lots and chose
Matthias to fill that vacant office
(see Acts 1:15-26 ). Thus Matthias
was included in the comm ission
and rewards given the other orig inal
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 I Cor. 15:9-10 ; Rom.
1:1 ; I Cor. 1:1 ; Gal. 1:1 , etc.).
rj1 "I have just finished reading
K.i the best-selling book Life After
Life by Dr. Raymond A. Moody, Jr. In
it was the testimony of people who
had 'died' and been brought back.
They told of some fascinating experiences,
including being out of their
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
n Though many of these hap­
,III penings are understandably
astounding and seem to contradict
what the Bible says about death ,
the whole idea of such a " life-afterlife
" experience is based on the
premise that these people actually
died. According to the medical profession,
these individuals were clinically
dead . However, medical
science has not yet agreed on what
constitutes actual death in a human
being, and the fact that these
people are here to tell of their experiences
can be put forth as evidence
that they weren 't really dead ,
after all.
Real permanent death, according
to the Bible, is total and complete
unconsciousness-without memory,
feeling, knowledge or percept ion
(Eccl. 9:5; Ps. 6:5). These biblical
statements remain as our authority
The PLAIN TRUTH December 1977