Originally Posted by
DD2014
So are we allowed to keep slaves because the human condition has not changed and Gods words are eternal?
So the bible is not "one book for the ages". It was intended for use 2000+ years ago. After all Jesus didn't even full fill his own prophesy in [Matthew 24:25-34] ~34I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened~. So the bible was never meant to reach our ears, Jesus was meant to come back around 1920 years ago.
Slavery of the kind in Scripture under Israel is not for today, for that was under the Old Covenant, under the law. It ended with Christ when He came to fill up the law. Read Matthew 5-7 on how this filling up works.
Matt. 24.25-34 is fulfilled at the end of this age and when Christ returns. Obviously this generation still exists. The problem is how you are reading the word "generation".
v.25 “Behold, I have told you beforehand”—How precious are these words, because the Lord foretells to us the things at the end. Is it not great to know future things? We may thus escape the unexpected. Unfortunately, saints fail to treasure these words. Whenever the Scriptures use the term “Behold” it suggests that something important will follow. Accordingly, we know the significance here of this Olivet prophecy. The word of prophecy, we are told, is likened to a lamp shining in a dark place (2 Peter 1.19). Neglecting it, one may easily fall into darkness. Many nowadays look upon society, nation, or the world with great expectation and hope. How misplaced is such hope. And this is because they lack the shining lamp. The Lord has told us beforehand. If we suffer at the end, we ourselves will be held responsible.
v.26 False Christs (and false prophets) have already been mentioned or alluded to several times (see verses 5,11,23,24). Here they are again alluded to in order to show how serious the situation is. “The wilderness” speaks of any place that is separated from the general intercourse with the world. While John the Baptist was in the wilderness he was asked if he were the Christ. “Inner chambers” denote a secret place, that which is not open to the public. Human psychology is such that it attaches great power and attraction to anything secretive. Yet the moment something becomes open, it loses its power. Did not the Corinthian believers, for example, despise Paul, saying that “his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account” (2 Cor. 10.10)?
v.27 “Lightning” flashes in the sky and everybody sees it, whereas by contrast “the wilderness” is hidden from many eyes. The Lord’s appearing is absolutely open. He shall come in the cloud. If anyone suggests that the Lord will come to the earth stealthily, do not believe him. Nevertheless, the first rapture does happen secretly, and the Lord’s coming from the throne to the air is also in secret. Just as the lightning is first hidden in the clouds until the time of its flashing in the sky, so Christ will hide himself in the cloud until the right moment for His appearing (see Rev. 1.7, Acts 1.11). According to the record of the book of Acts, at His ascension the Lord was first taken up without any cloud, and only then was He received by a cloud. Even so shall be His coming again, except the order will at that time be reversed. First, He will be hidden by the cloud (which will include the rapture), and next will He appear publicly (by that time all the saints will have been raptured before His appearing). So that what we are waiting for in parousia is not the coming but the going.
v.28 “Carcase” and “eagles”—The word “carcase” is commonly interpreted as representing “Christ” and the term “eagles” as symbolizing Christians. According to this interpretation, this has reference to the breaking of bread, in that after the death of Christ the Christians eat His flesh. But such interpretation is not only untrustworthy, it is also absurd; it even borders on blasphemy. For the Scriptures speak of the life of the Lord as well as the death of the Lord. The One in whom we believe is the Lord who was dead and has been resurrected: for “if Christ hath not been raised,” says Paul, “then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain” (1 Cor. 15.14). Furthermore, a “carcase” (or corpse) decays and stinks (see John 11.39). Thus this word cannot point to Christ.
How, then, should this word be explained? (a) A corpse plus life equals a living person; a living person minus life equals a corpse—so that “carcase” here represents that which has no life, which in other words stands for all who are in Adam (see 1 Cor. 15.22). Believers are no longer in Adam; having received new life, they cannot be called by this term “carcase”: instead, they are called the body of Christ. When they break the bread, they are not dividing up the Lord’s corpse; for the Lord says, “This is my body” (and where there is life, such is not a corpse). (b) A corpse stinks as it decays (John 11.39 mg.; 1 Cor. 15.50,53 ). That is why a man is buried after he dies (see Gen. 23.4). Hence “carcase” here also signifies the decay of those dead in Adam.
The word “eagles” has several applications in the Bible: (a) The people of God. See Isaiah 40.31 and Deuteronomy 32.11. These two passages lay stress on the flying of the eagles. (b) In Leviticus, an eagle is classified as an abomination among the birds (11.13), for it devours dead flesh (see Rev. 19.17-18, 21b). The devouring of corpses by eagles (“all the birds that fly in mid heaven”) as told in Revelation signifies God’s judgment; so too is it here in Matthew. Wherever the corruption of the dead in Adam is, there also is the judgment of God. (Both the words “eagles” and “carcase” are interpreted spiritually here because the word “lightning” in the preceding verse is used in parabolic fashion too).
v.29 The words “immediately after” are most important in fixing the time. The sun and the moon and the stars should be taken literally. Some try to explain them symbolically as kings, princes and chief captains being shaken; but such an interpretation is unacceptable; because were this the case, the sun and moon and stars would have had to have been shaken before the appearing of the Lord.
The distress mentioned here in Matthew 24.29 is the same as that spoken of in Revelation 6.12-13—except that the time is different. In Revelation we notice that all seven seals (of which these celestial phenomena are the consequences of the sixth seal) are broken at the beginning of the Tribulation, with the seals then followed by further and greater trials in the trumpets and bowls; but here these same celestial things occur after the Tribulation: “But immediately after the tribulation of those days”; hence at the beginning of the Great Tribulation there is a change in these celestial bodies, and likewise at the end of the Tribulation there is still another celestial catastrophe. What we find stated in Joel 2.31 is the same as the sixth seal in Revelation 6, for Joel plainly mentions that these things will occur “before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh” (2.31b). Matthew, though, clearly states that such phenomena will take place “immediately after the tribulation of those days” (24.29). These changes in celestial bodies must therefore happen twice.
v.30 “Then” is the time after what is described in verse 29 has happened. We do not know what will be this sign of the Son of man. The familiar views are: (a) the Lord himself—but this is unacceptable since the Lord declares explicitly “the sign of the Son of man” and not the Son of man himself; and (b) the cross—with this being based on the sign of Jonah which the Lord gave to the scribes and the Pharisees as noted in Matthew 12. Although this is a definite possibility, we do not have a full conviction that it is so. Consequently, we will reserve our judgment on this view. One thing we do know, however, is that this sign must be something supernatural and mysterious.
“In heaven”—Since the sign appears in heaven, all the tribes of the earth shall see it. “All the tribes of the earth” refers to the twelve tribes of Israel. They shall mourn and weep (see Zech. 12.10-14).
“With power and great glory”—At His first coming, the Lord manifested both great authority (in that He cast out demons and healed the sick) and glory. At His second coming, He will manifest power and glory. At His first coming, people marveled at His teaching and authority (Matt. 7.28). The Pharisees questioned Him as to the source of His authority (Matt. 21.23). A centurion believed in His authority (Matt. 8.8-9). But at His second coming, He will not only manifest authority but also power. He will not ride on a colt (as the Prince of Peace) but will ride instead on a white horse. Power is used in executing the judgment of God. In the future Satan will greatly increase his lawless works; so the Lord will destroy him with power. The difference between power and authority may be illustrated by the driving of a car (power) in contrast to the directing given by a policeman (authority). At His first coming our Lord healed the sick, cast out demons, and calmed the storm—all these being demonstrations of authority. Even when He overturned tables and drove out sheep and oxen with a scourge of cords, He did not use the whip on men. Only at His second coming will He exercise such power.
v.31 This verse is the fulfillment of Matthew 23.39: “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”—After the Great Tribulation, the Lord will “gather together His elect”: the “elect” or “chosen” are the Jews who are scattered among the nations. “From the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other”—This does not denote rapture, for here it is the idea of erchomai, not parousia. Here is a gathering together (see Deut. 30.3-5). After the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews were either killed or captured. They were scattered to the nations. Now, the Lord begins to call them back (see Is. 43.5-7). They shall return from the east, the west, the north, and the south. Some shall even come from the land of Sinim (Is. 49.9-13). Now Sinim means China, and in Hunan province there is a large number of Jews, who, incidentally, take the family name of Tsan. See also Isaiah 49.22-26, 51.11, 56.8, 60.4, 62.10-12, 27.13; Ezekiel 34.13, 37.21, 28.25. “From the four winds”—Wind is moving all the time: the Jews have no settled place in which to live but wander all over the world.
The gathering spoken of here is not the rapture of the church, because (1) parousia has already passed, and rapture is within the scope of parousia; (2) this is a gathering together, and hence it has no connection with parousia; (3) if it were indeed parousia it would be totally foreign to the meaning of the preceding passage; (4) by it pointing to the Jews it agrees with Matthew 23.37; (5) at the trump of God, the Lord would come to the air; and (6) the context proves to be concerning the Jews.
Jesus’ End-Time Prophecy, Part Two: Concerning the Church 24.32-25.30
A. LESSONS FROM THE FIG TREE AND THE DAYS OF NOAH, 24.32-42
v.32 The word “now” marks the beginning of the second part. Since the Lord gives this part of His prophecy on the Mount of Olives—a place where there are many fig trees —He quite naturally could use the fig tree as an illustration. “When her branch is now become tender”—This speaks of the return of life. “And putteth forth its leaves”—This means the manifestation of life. The fig tree represents the Jews (Jer. 24.2,5,8). Earlier the Lord had cursed the fig tree which possessed only leaves but had no fruit. In reality the curse was upon the Jews who possessed the outward rituals but had no reality. “Summer” is the season of growth as winter is the season of withering and death. In the summer, life shows its greatest vigor, the air is warm, and the days are bright. It is a golden season, and therefore it stands for the kingdom. The Jews today are in the winter time. Winter points to tribulation, particularly the Great Tribulation. Spring speaks of rapture (see S.S. 2.10-14); summer speaks of the kingdom (see Luke 21.30-31). In Luke 21.29-30 we have the words “and all the trees”—which phrase represents the nations (see Daniel 4.10-17 and Judges 9.8-15). When “all the trees ... now shoot forth” (Luke 21.29-30), this is a signifying that nationalism will have been greatly developed among many peoples and nations.
v.33 Let us understand that the preceding verses 4-31 form a part and are not a break with what follows; and hence the thoughts in the earlier part are continuous into the next. The major difference between 24.4-31 and 24.32-25.46 lies in this: that the one part speaks about the Jews while the other part speaks about the church.
“All these things”—Such words should be connected with 23.36 (“All these things shall come upon this generation”), with 24.6 (“these things”), and with 24.8 (“all these things”). “All these things” have reference to the beginning of tribulation, as reflected in such things as false Christs, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and so forth.
“He is nigh”—“It is nigh” (mg.) is the more accurate rendering of this phrase in the Greek text. The “it” points to the kingdom. The kingdom is near, “even at the doors”: this agrees with Luke—“Even so ye also, when ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh” (21.31).
v.34 “This generation”—The Greek text is genea, not aion. The Chinese deem 30 years to be a generation; the West reckons 40 years as such. Neither calculation is applicable here, for had it been either case, all these things would have had to have been fulfilled in the lifetime of those living at the time of Matthew and thus all would have become past history. On the basis of such an interpretation (that is, that the meaning of “generation” is in terms of a given period of years) the historians maintain that Matthew 24 is already past: they argue that Titus destroyed Jerusalem exactly 40 years after the Lord had spoken these words recorded here in verse 34 and that therefore the word “generation” is here used in its most general sense.
Some try to avoid the problem by changing “generation” into “race”—the race of the Jewish people. But this is unlikely because (1) Matthew 1.17 says, “So all the generations from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations”; (2) we must not alter a word simply because of a difficulty, and (3) had this word been “race” in its translation, then such an explanation would mean that the Jewish race has the possibility of being destroyed since the Lord in fact declares that “this generation shall not pass away till all these things be accomplished” (v.34).
How, then, should genea be explained? We should try to find the clue from the Old Testament:
“Thou wilt keep them, O Jehovah, thou wilt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Ps. 12.7). This is a generation not in terms of a physical, but a moral, relationship.
“They are a perverse and crooked generation” (Deut. 32.5). The genea (Hebrew, dor) here is not 30 or 40 years or even a lifetime. As long as perversity and crookedness last, just so is the duration of that generation.
“For they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness” (Dent. 32.20). The generation continues as long as unfaithfulness persists.
“There is a generation that curse their father, and bless not their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men” (Prov. 30.11-14). Obviously, such a generation is not limited to a few decades or a lifetime; rather, it points to a period marked by certain immoral characteristics.
We may receive further light from the Gospel of Matthew itself:
“But whereunto shall I liken this generation. . .?” (11.16-19).
“An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet . . . The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here” (12.39,41).
“The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with this generation . . . Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation” (12.42,45 ).
“All these things shall come upon this generation” (23.36).
This evil generation will last just as long as evil and adultery remain. Hence the meaning of genea in 24.34 is a period of time characterized by evil, adultery, perverseness, and crookedness. Such a period has not yet passed away, and will pass away only after all these things are accomplished.
“This generation” includes three classes of people: (1) the Gentiles who worship idols and reject God; (2) those Jews who reject Christ; and (3) the apostates—the so-called modernists. Before all these people pass away, all these things will be accomplished. The Lord will come and destroy them. Before the coming of the kingdom, all these things shall be fulfilled.
We should thus see the distinction among these three Greek words used in the Bible: kosmos is the world, aion is the age, and genea is the generation.
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