Letters

“Faithful medical attendants”!

In “War in Israel!” (September, p. 375), you mentioned the faithful servants and the wicked servants of “his household” (Matt. 24:45). The word used for “household” is “therapeia”, as also in Luke 12:42. Strong interprets this word as a “medical attendant” and equates it with healing, which is easy to see from the original word.

How seldom are some members who need healing treated in this way by the ecclesial servants, and how often are they treated shamefully. This too may be a sign of “the last days” you wrote about.

David Ward Yes, that is indeed a good supplemental point. It reminds us that the ecclesia is not just a “safe haven” for those who are healthy — but also, and especially, a “hospital” for those who are ill, or weak or depressed or in “uncertain” health. Faithful servants in God’s “hospital” will recognize their duties toward these other “servants”.

Behind this picture echo the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’[Hos. 6:6]. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matt. 9:12,13; cp. Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31). And Paul exhorts likewise: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls” (Rom. 14:1,4).

But then, of course, if we could understand that we ought to “accept”

those who with whom we disagree on “doubtful” (Rom. 14:1, KJV) or “disputable” matters (i.e., questions that are not “first principles”), then we would — presumably — have no problems seeing what our duties are toward them (and all other true brothers and sisters).

George

Job 4:18,19?

This came up in a discussion with my boss — who is willing to discuss the Bible in a friendly fashion until we both realize we really need to get back to work!

I had mentioned to him that angels do no wrong, and he brought up these verses in Job 4: “If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error (or ‘folly’: KJV), how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth!” (vv. 18,19, NIV).

Other verses certainly seem to say otherwise:

Angels obey the will of God (Psa. 103:20,21; Heb. 1:14).
They execute the purposes of God (Num. 22:22; Psa. 34:5-7; Matt. 13:39 42; 28:2; John 5:4; Rev. 5:2).
They carry out the judgments of God (2 Sam. 24:16; 2 Kings 19:35; Psa. 35:5,6; Acts 12:23; Rev. 16:1).

So does Job 4 actually say that angels sin? Maritta Terrell First off, since Job 4 is spoken by Eliphaz, we need not accept all he says as “gospel truth”.

Secondly, we might cross-reference Galatians 1:8: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” Does this verse “prove” that angels sin? Or does it simply suggest, by a sort of hyperbole or exaggeration, that — if it were possible (without stating definitively that it is) for the angels of God to preach falsely — then even those angels ought to be condemned?

Having said that much, though, I might also add one other suggestion: It seems plain, from the passages you cite (and others), that the angels of heaven are in fact uniformly obedient to God’s will.

But… do they know everything? And are they all-powerful? Or are they inclined to come up short, sometimes, either in understanding certain concepts or in accomplishing certain tasks to which God has assigned them? Consider:

Angels are not omniscient: Matt. 24:36 (they don’t know the future); 1 Pet. 1:12 (they desire to learn more).
They are not omnipotent: Gen. 32 (the angel cannot prevail against Jacob immediately); Exod. 31:17 (do angels need to “rest”?); Dan. 8:13; 10:11-13. But then, neither of these points, even if admitted, are the same as saying that angels “sin” — but rather that they are perhaps “in training” as willing and obedient servants of Almighty God.

One final observation: the word “toholah” in Job 4:18 (translated “error” in NIV, but “folly” in KJV) occurs only once in the Old Testament. According to both HAL (“Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament”, by Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner) and NIDOTTE (“New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis”), the derivation of this Hebrew word is uncertain. The NIDOTTE, citing the Jerusalem Bible and the NEB, suggests that the rendering “fault” best captures the meaning of the expression in context. God is all-wise and all-powerful, but His angels — while willing and obedient servants — may need occasional direction, supervision, and instruction from God Himself while they carry out their assigned tasks.

This might be admitted without actually agreeing that God’s holy angels can or do commit sin.

George

The Conscientious Objector

I just finished reading the article in the Nov. Tidings about the conscientious objector Desmond Doss. It was very interesting. However, I think more information could have been included in the last paragraph, mainly that Christadelphians should never join the military. You may think this is well understood, but it is not. We lost a young brother in our meeting to the navy… You did offer some information in that last paragraph but more is available… such as the website www.christadelphianco.org.

Andrew Delorenzo

Thanks very much for calling attention to that point. I did indeed assume that everyone knew our stand as COs, and that non-combatant service in the military does not truly satisfy it — since it requires swearing allegiance to the country, and the possibility at least of being compelled to bear arms. While Doss’ story is well worth knowing, we should beware of the dangers of the sort of service he undertook. Thanks also for the other source of information about CO status.

Prophecy

Dear Bro. George,

I hasten to express my appreciation for your “Signs of the Times” article ending with the quote from Isaac Newton [Sept., pp. 374-376]. That is a message that needs saying — and saying more often. The New Testament sets the example: the gospels give quite a number of fulfilled prophecies that were very obviously only expected to be understood when the event occurred. Thus they confirmed the faith of those watching the events unfold. Is this not how we should watch? The shepherds, the wise men, Simeon and Anna all rejoiced when they saw the prophecies fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, but they seemingly had no idea of the next event in the sequence.

John the Baptist, although filled with the Holy Spirit from birth (Luke 1:15), gave no evidence — in his preaching about the Messiah — that he knew how the prophecies would unfold. Some of his words about the forthcoming work of the Lamb of God are still awaiting fulfillment, i.e., “his winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn” (Luke 3:17). It is interesting how our Lord responded to the messengers who came with questions from John: he told them to report to John what they saw happening (Luke 7:22). He expected John to perceive, in events as they unfolded, the fulfillment of the prophets’ words. Thus they would

learn to wait for, rather than anticipate, the fulfillment.

It concerns me that so many seem to be so sure about the order of coming events and the parties involved in those events. If they are wrong, and events at the end unfold so rapidly that we do not have an opportunity to rethink, then our faith could be seriously undermined — especially if we are following those who say (or have put in writing) that the way to be ready for the return of Christ is to understand, beforehand, exactly what is going to happen.

David Caudery

Canterbury (Melbourne), AUST

War in Israel!

Having been on this earth 85 years, I have seen several generations that thought Christ would return during their lifetimes, although the signs were not nearly so strong then. Now the signs are very exciting (and somewhat frightening).

When I read the recent article, “War in Israel!”, I recalled a day when we were having meeting at Bro. E’s farm — the feeling was so strong that I could still smell the lilacs that bloomed outside an open window. Bro. E said that the reason Israel would be invaded one day was because of Mideast oil. How amazed he would be today if he were to see the signs we are seeing. I always loved Bro. E; he had the biggest heart, and he was the biggest reason I was baptized. I will throw my arms around his neck when I see him again, and tell him I love him.

For those of us who are old and no longer needed at work, it is so exciting every day hearing and seeing signs that we have studied all of our lives. Now they are coming to pass! It gives us a reason to get out of bed each day. It is indeed an exciting time. How blessed we are that we have means of getting the news practically the moment it happens.

Edith Scott

The “Gray Areas”

A younger brother writes, “I think I am going through a bit of a transition. I am only 28 years old and have been in the Truth for seven years. When I was younger I saw things as clear black and white. I now realize that issues in the Truth (and in life) are not so clear, and I don’t always have the answer.”

Editor’s reply:

Congratulations, you are almost there! When I was 25 I thought — as you put it — everything was black and white, and that I had all the answers. But by the time I was 30, I realized that there were a lot of things that were not nearly so clear. And from that point forward, I have been learning to accept it, and live with it, and I have been trying to focus on the things that seem to be the most important.

Two men were talking, as they walked one day. The younger one was clearly troubled, and finally he said to his companion, “There are some things in the Bible that I don’t understand, and they trouble me.”

The older man replied, “Why, that’s no problem at all. There are things in the Bible that I DO understand — and those are the ones that trouble me!”

As for what we don’t understand perfectly (?), these have to be filed away in special slots in our minds, along with other related (and very practical) matters, like illness, failure, suffering, etc.

These are special areas because, when we go there in our minds, we realize that these situations and circumstances are where God is teaching us humility — IF we are paying attention.

Matriarchal Societies?

I have a hard question to ask on my own initiative, which has worried me for a very long time.

In many matriarchal societies without a strong Christian, Jewish or Muslim tradition, the Biblical concept of a patriarchal nuclear family is virtually incomprehensible — being foreign to the local majority culture. Many Caribbean societies, for example, as well as many in Asia and Africa, are matriarchal in family structure and practice. It is no help at all to approach these people as if they are merely heathen fornicators. They are very often much more moral overall than are most westerners. In the experience of many of us, this is an enormous obstacle to acceptance of Bible truth. Any ideas as to how to deal with this problem.