QUES. 27.-" And to-morrow shall thou and thy sons be with me" (1 Sam. 28:19). Was this the place where all the dead rest? or did the prophet mean that Saul and his sons were going to be cut off from the earth simply ? From this passage, can we say that both the saved and the unsaved are together ?

ANS.-We believe that the expression simply means that Saul and his sons would on the morrow be killed in battle and be among the dead, as Samuel was-among the dead as in contrast with those living on the earth.

It in nowise defines the place they occupy among the dead. Lazarus and the rich man, in Luke 16:, are both among the dead as contrasted with those who are still living upon the earth, but they are in very different places there. One is in the place of bliss, the other of torment, with "a great gulf fixed " between the two.

QUES. 28.-Is the word wine used in Scripture the real fermented juice of the vine, or simple grape juice? Did the Lord use grape juice, or what we call "wine," at the Supper? And what was it at the wedding at Cana ?

ANS.-You will ever find in Scripture that drunkenness is attached to wine; that " much wine" is not good; that "a little wine" was commended to a sickly man; that to be "given to wine" unfits one for holy duties, etc., etc.;-thus showing that what is called "wine" is not "grape juice," which cannot make one drunk, but the fermented juice of the grape, which does make drunk.

Let us remind you, and all, that wine, from which many make themselves drunk, and which it were far better for many to abstain from, is by no means the only test God has put before man in creation. Fornication, adultery, do not argue that woman is an evil. Covetousness does not argue that gold is an evil. Murder does not argue that a knife or a weapon is evil. Let sin be hateful to us, and we can then thank God for everything He has made.

QUES. 29.-In the book of Genesis I have been able to trace the years from Adam to Isaac, which are 2206 years ; or, when Isaac begot Jacob it was 1798 years B. C. But I have been unable to keep up the chain. Where, and in what books of the Bible, will I find the rest, to the birth of the Savior? In Luke we find the natural genealogy from Adam to Christ, but not the years. Is there not some other book-traditions, perhaps ?

ANS.-There are too many difficult questions to be considered to make it possible to give a satisfactory answer. 1st. Is the present Hebrew text in Gen. 5:and 11:the correct text? There is good evidence, yet perhaps not decisive, that at one time the text in these chapters was very different. 2d. Were the children of Israel 215, or 430, years in Egypt? Authorities are divided. The latter term suits best with the computation of the age of Amraphel, a contemporary of Abraham, based on statements found in recovered Babylonian inscriptions. There are, however, one or two doubtful elements in the computation, so that it is still uncertain. 3d. How far can we trust the traditions? They are very conflicting. By comparing the Scriptures with well-founded dates in contemporary history, a continuous chronology may be traced back from the crucifixion of Christ to the exodus of Israel out of Egypt, 1444 b. o. Of course many details can be only approximately placed. Further back we cannot claim accuracy, in the present state of our knowledge. C. C.

ANS. 30.-Will you kindly explain in help and food Matt. 26:6-13, and Luke 7:36-39? Is the Mary mentioned in both the same person ? There is much that is different in both incidents, and would lead one to think the Mary in Luke was not the Mary of Bethany; but one lately expressed the thought that the story in all four Gospels was one and the same.

Ans.-The incident narrated in Luke 7:36-49 occurred some time during our Lord's Galilean journey, at the beginning of His ministry. The incident narrated in Matt. 26:6-3 occurred just at the close, only a few days before the crucifixion. Simon was a very common name; so, too, was Mary. The Simon at whose house Mary anointed the Lord had been a leper. As having been healed, he would be one of those who "loved much." John 12:2 would give us to think that it was as "loving much" that he took part in the supper they made the Lord at Bethany. The Simon of Luke 7:was not one of those who "loved much." It is plainly a mistake to identify the Simon of the one account with the Simon of the other. There is no proof that the " woman who was a sinner" of the one was the same as the Mary of the other. Nor can we identify the Mary of Bethany with the Mary of Magdala. C. C.

QUES. 31.-Is the gift of healing in the Church now as in the time of the apostles ?

ANS.-If it is, let it be seen, for miracles are for sight, not for faith. We have seen, as faith has ever seen and will ever see, prayers answered and sick people made well, whether with or without medical aid. But this is a very different thing from the gift of healing. A man with such a gift can, in the name of Jesus, say to a sick man, Walk, and he walks; to a dead man, Arise, and he comes forth. We have neither seen nor heard of such in our times, though we know well our Lord is able now, as in former days, and indeed may yet, in heathen countries especially, accompany His gospel with remarkable signs of power.

Various questions remain over for our next issue. Here we close with this, the last one of the present year, thanking God heartily for His many mercies in this service, and for His forgiving grace in all the failings which He has seen in it. How sweet to serve Him, and all His saints because they belong to Him! Sweeter, too, as the end draws near, grows the fellowship of one's fellow-servants in this '' work of faith and labor of love.'' Editor.