Correspondence: Mat. 24:22; Luke 14:26; Two Little Whiles; Mat. 13:30; 1 Jo. 2:7-8

From: Young Christian: Volume 30, 1940

Correspondence: MAT 24:22; LUK 14:26; Two Little Whiles; MAT 13:30; 1 JO 2:7-8

Matthew 13:30,39‑41,49; Matthew 24:22; Luke 14:26; John 16:16 • 2 min. read • grade level: 7

Question: “But for the elect’s sake those days are shortened” (Matt. 24:22²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)). Who are the elect spoken of here?

Answer: The Jewish remnant, who will suffer terribly in the last half of Daniel’s seventieth week.

Question: Please explain Luke 14:26²⁶If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26).

Answer: We can only understand this to mean that Christ being rejected, those who truly follow Him must be prepared to do so at all costs, even to the breaking of every earthly tie; not that natural relationships as such are to be repudiated, but Christ must be first, and His claims set before all else, even one’s own life.

Question: Are there two “little whiles” in John 16?

Answer: Yes, He was still to be with them a little while, and He was to be separated from them a little while.

Question: Could the scripture be applied now where it told the angels at harvest time to go and first gather the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into My barn? Does the wheat apply to Israel? (Matt. 13:30³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matthew 13:30)).

Answer: The kingdom, in its present form, extends from Pentecost till the Lord comes for His saints.

There are many associations, both secular and religious, that might be spoken of as “bundles” of tares, but the wheat is mixed in with them. The wheat here is not Israel, but all who are the Lord’s now; those who are cleansed from their sins and sealed by the Holy Spirit. When the Lord comes, He will gather them all into His granary. After that, the angels will be called to do their work (Matt. 13:39,41,49³⁹The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. (Matthew 13:39)
⁴¹The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; (Matthew 13:41)
⁴⁹So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, (Matthew 13:49)).

The fishermen in Matthew 13:48⁴⁸Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. (Matthew 13:48) are the servants in the present time, who understand what God is doing, not saving the world, but gathering out of it those who compose the body of Christ. They know that the gospel of the grace of God, that is preached now, gathers these only, and these are the good who believe the gospel to the salvation of their souls. The bad, though in the net, were only nominal Christians, that is, without being born again.

Question: Please tell us about 1 John 2:7-8⁷Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. ⁸Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. (1 John 2:7‑8).

Answer: In one sense, it was not a new commandment, but that which was from the beginning. In another sense, it was a new commandment, inasmuch as Christ is revealed in a new way, by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, consequent upon Christ’s glorification at God’s right hand. Eternal life was always in Him; but now it is true in Him and in His people, because they are united to Him by the Holy Ghost. It could not have been said, “in Him and in you” until redemption was accomplished, and the Holy Ghost had come down to baptize believers into one body, and unite them to the head; but this latter is unfolded in the writings of Paul. John gives us the subject of eternal life. Paul develops the doctrine of the church.

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