166 - UNTIL THE LAW by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Aug 31, 1915

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 34.

166 — UNTIL THE LAW

By Editor

Please explain Luke 16: 16. Why the word "until" if the law is still in force?

The scripture reads, "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." Our querist will notice that the verb "were" is in italics, a supplied word. It is necessary, in the translation, to supply, but enough has not been supplied. The ellipsis has not been filled. What should have been supplied is, "were preached." The law and the prophets were preached until John. From that time, the kingdom of heaven is preached. That was the fullest light that the older messengers of God had — the preaching of the law and the prophets; but when John came, he had another message, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Therefore the gospel of the kingdom of God began to be preached at that time, and souls pressed forward, struggled, gave themselves to God, that they might enter it. The thought is not that the law was done away at that time. Even those who believe in the repeal of God's law, do not generally hold that it was repealed before the time of the crucifixion, two or three years later than the last preaching of John. In fact, God's law is still obligatory, and faith establishes it in the heart. See Rom. 3: 31, and many other scriptures of the same import.

The thought of the text is that the ministers of God preached the law and the prophets up to the time when John appeared, then God's message took a new burden, "The kingdom of God is at hand;" just as the sacrifices and belief that Abel held, were preached right down to the time of the Flood; but when Noah began his message, that gave an added note to the gospel at that time, and the coming Deluge and the refuge in the ark were preached.

167 — DEPARTING AND BEING WITH CHRIST

Will you please explain Phil. 1: 23?

The scripture reads as follows: "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better."

The apostle speaks of two things concerning which he cannot choose. He is in a strait between them. He does not know which to make his choice. One of these is, to live; and the other is, to die. Christ will be magnified either by life or by death. Paul does not know which of the two to choose. If he should live, it meant suffering and trial — conflict. If he should die, it would mean a cessation from these, but he would also lose his joy in the work of God; so he does not know which to choose, life or death. He does, however, have a desire for another thing, and that is to be with Christ; and he himself clearly tells us when this will take place — not when he dies, and not while he lives, but when our Lord Himself comes. Therefore we read in this same epistle of the Philippians, chapter 3: 20, A. R. V., "For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory." That is what the apostle longed for. Again, in 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17, we read: "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." That is the thing the apostle Paul desired — to be ever with Christ. That was the thing which he thought was "far better" than either life or death. Of course, if he should die, it would be but a moment to the unconscious sleeper in Christ; but the apostle did not long for that sleep. He desired what waits beyond death — life forevermore with Christ.

168 — THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE

What day did the psalmist refer to in Ps. 118: 24, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it"?

He referred to the day of Christ's triumph, the fulfillment of so many of the prophecies and types of the Old Testament. He did not refer to any day of the week, to any twenty-four hour day. That is not the thought of it. He referred to the day in which the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ should go to the world, based on the great good news of His death for our sins, and His resurrection for our justification. "The stone which the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." Verses 22, 23. Now the Lord certainly does not design that His people shall be glad merely one day in the week, but every day in the week, and this great day of salvation is the day in which they are to be glad. The term is used in a similar way in 2 Cor. 6: 2: "For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6: 2.

169 — THE PEOPLING OF THE EARTH

If Adam and Eve had lived, or remained faithful to God, and had not eaten of the forbidden fruit, would they have brought forth children or not?

They would. The command to them to "multiply, and replenish the earth," came before sin entered at all. It was God's plan that this whole earth should be peopled from one family. All would then be related. All would be bound together in the same family ties. All would be children of God through Adam their father, who was "the son of God." Gen. 1: 27, 28. But they sinned, and for that reason many more children would be born into the world. So the Lord said to Eve, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception." Gen. 3: 16. However, not by human birth are we saved now to the kingdom of God, nor do we by human birth become inheritors of the glorious new heavens and new earth. We are made heirs only by being born from above by our Lord Jesus Christ. If man had never sinned, when the earth became filled there would have been no more born into the world. We could not conceive that the earth would have been too full, overpopulated. Under our Lord Jesus Christ, the great work of salvation of souls and new birth of souls will go on until the requisite number is made up, and then work for man will close.